DUAL EVENTS FUEL TRAFFIC, PARKING JAM; CARS, CLIPS ELBOW FOR SPACE.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

With about 100,000 people on hand Saturday at the Convention Center for the Los Angeles Auto Show, plus an additional 12,000 or so L.A. Clippers fans next door at the Staples Center, parking and traffic around the two downtown venues were sticky.

``Tonight it's a mess with the two of them together,'' said David Bockelman, a Redondo Beach man. He said he circled around for a few minutes and then gave up and parked at a lot about three-quarters of a mile from the Convention Center and took the parking shuttle bus provided by the Auto Show.

By midafternoon, all the spots at the Convention Center itself were taken and the lot was closed. And the many private and Staples-controlled lots were doing a brisk business, with some of the closest lots charging up to $20.

Some people reported circling for 30 minutes, having to park four blocks away, or paying an ``outrageous'' $20 to park close.

But others said the parking was no worse than the Auto Show typically sees, and with a little bit of luck and good timing they got decent spaces.

Some Clippers fans said they didn't have much of a problem at all.

``We thought it would've been a lot worse,'' said Chris Yasaki, a Torrance man attending the Clippers game who paid $10 to park across the street from Staples. ``It wasn't bad at all. It really surprised me. My brother-in-law went to the Auto Show this afternoon and had to park three blocks away.''

The City Council had been worried for several months about this day because of the side-by-side events, and because the two sets of organizers seemed unable to work it out among themselves.

But Auto Show general manager Andy Fuzesi said Staples a few weeks ago agreed to release 2,500 parking spaces close to the center, which relieved some of the problem. To leave spots opens for Clippers fans, however, the Staples-controlled lots stopped letting people in at 2 p.m.

Fuzesi said it was too early to evaluate whether it worked, but his office didn't get any complaints from customers attending the show.

``It would've been a much worse problem had they not opened things up,'' Fuzesi said.

However, he added, it was fortunate that it was the Clippers, who have typically smaller attendance, playing, rather than the Lakers.

``Just because it works this year, doesn't mean it'll work next year,'' he said. ``There could be a Lakers game.''

Police said it was difficult to tell whether traffic was any worse than usual because of the two events.

``There's congestion there with a single event,'' said Sgt. A. Jones of the Central Division Traffic Bureau. A count of traffic accidents and other problems was not available, but Jones said that with a second event, ``You can bet there's going to be congestion.''

Juliet Trumble had a definite opinion about the situation.

``I thought it was terrible,'' said the Laguna Hills woman, who was attending the auto show.''

``There's a lot of people at this show,'' said her husband, Stuart. ``It's busier than I've ever seen it.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Traffic is jammed Saturday near the Convention Center as visitors to the Los Angeles Auto Show compete for parking with Clippers fans.

David Crane/Staff Photographer

(2) Jose Acota of Los Angeles looks at the new Ford Excursion on Saturday at the L.A. Auto Show.

David Crane/Staff Photographer

(3) Visitors to the Los Angeles Auto Show check out the interior of the Ford Excursion, the largest sport-utility vehicle made.